Elevated view of McMurdo Station, Antarctica, 1969. At the time, the summer population was about 1000, in the winter, about 200, according to Getty Images.

When you think desert, you probably think hot, but since the technical definition of desert has to do with rainfall, they can be found in all kinds of extreme temperatures. In the largest ice-free area of Antarctica you'll find the McMurdo Dry Valleys which, with an average temperature of -4 degrees Fahrenheit, is officially the coldest desert in the world.

Longest winter road

A car traverses ice on a frozen lake in an undated file photo.

In some parts of the world conditions can get so icy that people have to build roads on top of the ice and snow just to get around. That's how the Wapusk Trail in Canada comes to be each winter. At 467 miles, it's the longest winter road in the world.

Lowest temperature endured by a bird

Adult and chicks Emperor Penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) are shown by the Weddell Sea in Antarctica.

You might have guessed that this record is held by an arctic bird, but can you guess which breed survives in subzero temperatures? The breeding emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) along the Antarctic Sea can survive in -4 degree Faherenheit, a lower temperature than you'll find any other bird any other bird, according to Guinness. They are able to live there because their flippers and bills are 25 percent smaller proportional to their body compared with other penguins.

Biggest disruption to air travel

Ash and plumes of grit spew from the volcano in southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier Saturday April 17, 2010.

Talk about a travel nightmare! The Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland holds the record for biggest air travel disruption after its memorable April 2010 eruption. It went on for seven days, spewing ash that was then scattered by the jet stream. This caused more than 100,000 flight cancellations, leaving 7 million travelers stranded.